YOGA ANATOMY OF
SURYA
NAMASKAR
SUN SALUTATION A
Prepared by:
Joe Miller
E-RYT 500, YACEP®
HI!
I'M JOE MILLER.
My passion is teaching how
the body works.
Anatomy can be a tough-to-grasp subject, but it
doesn't have to be and I've made it my mission to
break it down in a way that's easy for yoga teachers
(and students!) to not only understand, but to also
integrate into their own teaching.
Sun Salutations are such a key piece of a yoga asana
practice and yet, we often don't take the time to really
think about what's happening physiologically with the
body in each pose and how that relates to and
supports the breath.
That's why I created this guide.
I hope you'll use it to better understand the mechanics
of what's happening with the body throughout Surya
Namaskar so you can practice with a greater sense of
intention and ease.
If you ever have questions, I'm always here to answer
them. I'd love to hear from you.
- Joe
joe@yogarenewteachertraining.com
WHAT IS
SURYA NAMASKAR?
Surya = Sun
Namaskar = "to bow down to," or "to honor"
Sun Salutations were traditionally meant as a way
to honor the sun, the energizer of all life. These
sequences were typically practiced during the
early morning hours during prayer or worship.
In these modern times, sun salutations are still a
viable way to honor the sun through the Yoga
practice but it's also used to create heat within
the body. If you've ever taken a Hatha or Vinyasa
Yoga class, you've probably completed some sun
salutations!
Sun salutations serve to warm up + prepare the
body, to unite the breath and body, and to move
in a meditative state to ready oneself for practice.
IN THIS GUIDE WE'LL BREAK DOWN
SUN SALUTATION A
3-5 breaths
+ prepare
TADASANA
MOUNTAIN POSE
This is a position of readiness that embodies a balance between relaxation and
alertness. The essence of the pose is finding a neutral, balanced standing position that
ideally could allow for movement in any direction with equal ease.
Feet/Ankles: The anatomical contact points of each foot—the heel, ball of the big
toe and ball of the little toe—are firmly planted, with the weight evenly
distributed between the heel and the balls of the toes. Grounding these points of
contact allows the three arches of each foot to lift. To distribute weight evenly
between the inner and outer heel bone (calcaneus), it may also be useful to
visualize four "corners" of the feet.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: The knees are straight, or extended, although it's
not uncommon for the knees to push past straight, or be hyper-
extended. A useful cue may be to visualize pressing the feet down as
the pelvis floats up, so that the knees lengthen without pushing
backward..
Pelvis: The pelvis is in a neutral position. In other words, it's balanced
between two opposing actions—anterior rotation and posterior
rotation, i.e. tilting the pelvis forward and backward. Because the
sacrum is both part of the pelvis and part of the spine, movements
of the pelvis and the spine are linked. When the pelvis is in a neutral
position, the lumbar spine will find its natural curve.
Spine: The spine is neutral with the three natural curves in the
cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.
Shoulders: The shoulders are in a neutral position so that the arms can
rest by the side of the body. Although it's commonly cued, pulling the
shoulder blades back and down is not actually the neutral position. If
someone's shoulders are excessively rounding forward, that cue could
bring them towards a more neutral position, but it isn't useful as a
universal cue for everyone.
Wrists/Hands: The wrists and hands are neutral. The palms are
facing in towards the thighs. This is different from anatomical
position, where the forearms and palms are supinated, aka facing
forward.
Neck/Head: The neck and head are neutral. In this position, the eye
level will be straight ahead, looking toward the horizon
INHALE
URDHVA HASTASANA
UPWARD HANDS
This pose is similar to tadasana, but with the arms elevated overhead.
Reaching the arms overhead requires a coordinated movement of the
arms, shoulder blades, collarbones and thoracic spine that is referred to
as scapulohumeral rhythm.
Feet/Ankles: The anatomical contact points of each foot—the heel, ball
of the big toe and ball of the little toe—are firmly planted, with the
weight evenly distributed between the heel and the balls of the toes.
Grounding these points of contact allows the three arches of each foot
to lift.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: The knees are straight, or extended, although it's not
uncommon for the knees to push past straight, or be hyper-extended. A
useful cue for finding straight knees is to visualize pressing the feet down
as the pelvis floats up, so that the knees lengthen without pushing
backward..
Pelvis: The pelvis is more or less in a neutral position.
Spine: The spine is mostly neutral but some amount of extension in the
thoracic spine will probably occur for the arms to reach fully overhead.
Shoulders: The arms are elevated. If the arms move out and up to get there,
that movement is shoulder abduction, accompanied by external rotation. If
the arms move forward and up, that is termed shoulder flexion. (This may
seem confusing, because a common cue is to "extend the arms overhead,"
but technically, it's shoulder flexion.) Whenever the arms lift, the shoulder
blades also rotate upwards. Upward rotation of the shoulder blades turns
the shoulder sockets, located on the outer shoulder blades, toward the
ceiling. It is OK and natural for the shoulder to move up as the arms go up.
Wrists/Hands: The wrists and hands will remain neutral as they go overhead.
The arms may come in (adduct) towards the head while the palms come
together and press up towards the sky.
Neck/Head: The neck and head can remain neutral with the gaze
straight ahead, although in some versions, the gaze may lift as the
thoracic and cervical spine extends. A useful cue is to "allow the
shoulders to elevate and soften the muscles of the neck."
EXHALE
UTTANASANA
STANDING FORWARD
BEND
This pose combines hip flexion with spinal flexion, lengthening the whole back side of
the body.
Feet/Ankles: The contact points of each foot are firmly planted, with the weight evenly
distributed between the heel and the balls of the toes. Grounding these points of
contact allows the three arches of each foot to lift.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: Typically in this pose, the knees are straight, or moving toward
straight. This requires the lengthening of the hamstrings. Because the hamstrings cross
both the knee and hip joints, bending the knees will slacken the hamstrings and make
it easier to fold forward, but will reduce the stretch of the hamstrings.
Pelvis: The hip joints are flexed, so that the pelvis is tilted forward
over the thighs. The position of the pelvis will depend on the
flexibility of the hamstrings. With the knees straight, tension in the
hamstrings will tend to pull the sitting bones (ischial tuberosities)
down, limiting the ability of the pelvis to tilt forward. If students
struggle to tilt the pelvis, bending the knees may make it easier to tilt
the pelvis. For those with more flexible hamstrings, the pelvis may
tilt forward easily with straight knees.
Spine: The spine is flexed. There is a degree of flexion from the
lumbar spine to the cervical spine.
Shoulders: The shoulders are flexed. As the spine flexes, the
shoulder blades will tend to slightly protract, or move away
from the spine.
Wrists/Hands: The wrists are extended so that the palms can
rest flat on the ground. Other options for hand placement
include palms on blocks or on shins, or fingertips on the
floor.
Neck/Head: The neck is slightly flexed as the nose moves
towards the legs. The muscles of the neck are relaxed so that
the crown of the head can release towards the floor.
INHALE
ARDHA UTTANASANA
STANDING HALF
FORWARD BEND
In this pose the hips remain flexed, as in uttanasana, but the spine is extended.
Feet/Ankles: The contact points of each foot—the heel, ball of the big toe and ball of
the little toe—are firmly planted. Grounding these points of contact allows the three
arches of each foot to lift.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: As in uttanasana, in this pose the knees are typically straight, or
moving toward straight. Just as in uttanasana, bending the knees will reduce the
tension in the hamstrings and may allow the student to tip the pelvis forward so that
they can find more spinal extension.
Pelvis: The position of the pelvis doesn't
change much from uttanasana. The hip joints
remain flexed, with the pelvis tipped forward.
Because the torso, shoulders and head are
farther away from the pelvis, the pelvis may
shift backward slightly to counterweight the
upper body.
Spine: The spine is extended. It's not extended to the point
that it is in a backbend, but there is a degree of extension,
particularly in the thoracic and cervical spine, to lift the chest
so that it's aiming forward.
Shoulders: Although the arms are not alongside the ears the
shoulders are still flexed, albeit to a lesser degree compared to
uttanasana or urdhva hastasana. Retracting the shoulder blades
slightly will help to spread the collarbones.
Wrists/Hands: The wrists are extended so that the palms can rest
flat on the ground. Other options for hand placement include palms
on blocks or on shins, or fingertips on the floor. The arms are
straight and are assisting to lift the chest.
EXHALE
CHATURANGA DANDASANA
FOUR-LIMBED
STAFF POSE
Except for the arms, this pose is similar to tadasana in shape. But because of the
changed relationship to gravity, many more muscles must be engaged to support the
body
Feet/Ankles: The toes are extended in this position. This may be difficult if movement
of the toes are limited. The big toe mound and pinky toe mound are on the floor, while
the relationship of the foot to the lower leg is more or less the same as in tadasana.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: The strength of the legs helps support the lift of the lower body
and pelvis. If the pelvis is drooping towards the floor, cueing to "use the legs and press
the thighs toward the sky," could help keep the pelvis lifted.
Pelvis: The pelvis is in the same position as in tadasana, aka neutral. Gravity will tend
to pull it toward the floor, requiring the engagement of many muscles, including the hip
flexors and abdominals, to keep it from sinking. It is also common to see the pelvis
lifted excessively. It may be necessary to cue "firm the sacrum towards the floor" if so.
This is balanced by the thighs and front ribs pressing up towards the sky.
Spine: The spine is neutral. Similar to the pelvis, gravity can easily pull the spine out of
neutral. The cue of "firming the front ribs up and in" can help to lift the thoracic and
lumbar spine if there is an excessive curve due to a weighing down of the pelvis. Note,
this cue will only work if everything else downstream is aligned well.
Shoulders: The shoulder flexor muscles, particularly the front deltoids, are engaged to
prevent the head and shoulders from sinking toward the floor.
Elbows/wrists/hands: The triceps muscles, which extend the elbow, are also working
strongly to resist gravity. The wrists are extended, and the forearms are pronated to
turn the palms toward the floor.
INHALE
URDHVA MUKHA SVANASANA
UPWARD FACING DOG
Upward facing dog is a backbend in which most joints in the body are extended. The
body is suspended between the feet and the arms, so strongly rooting the hands and
feet helps create a feeling of support for the backbend.
Feet/Ankles: The foot is plantar-flexed, i.e., pointed, at the ankle. This position may be
difficult for some people if movement of the ankles are limited. It is common to see
the heels rolling outward, so a good cue may be to "firm the outer ankle bones in."
Shins/Knees/Thighs: The quadriceps muscles on the front of the thigh contract to
extend the knees. That muscular engagement can help create a feeling of support for
the backbend by keeping the thighs lifting as the feet press into the floor.
Pelvis: The gluteal muscles are contracted to help extend the hip joints and create
length through the front of the hip joints.
Spine: This is a backbending position therefore the spine is in extension. Because the
portion of the spine in the thoracic spine has a natural convex curve as opposed to the
concave curve found in the lumbar and cervical spine, it may be necessary to emphasize
extension in the thoracic spine. A good cue is to "firm the upper back in."
Shoulders: The shoulders are moving toward extension, meaning the arms
are moving backward relative to the torso, although their actual position
will vary depending on the degree of backbend available to the person.
External rotation is also occurring (evident by the inner elbows and biceps
spinning forward) in the shoulders to allow the shoulder blades to draw
back to spread the collarbones. Depression of the shoulder blades occurs
as the chest lifts relative to the shoulder girdle.
Wrists/Hands: The actions of the wrists and hands are important to
support the pose. Anytime the palms are on the floor, the forearms are
pronated. This allows the palms to firmly root into the ground, which
allows the shoulders to externally rotate independent of the lower arm
and hand The pressing down of the hands assists to straighten the
arms and press the floor away.
EXHALE
ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA
DOWNWARD FACING
DOG
Downward facing dog combines hip flexion with weight bearing in the arms.
Feet/Ankles: The toes are extended and the foot is dorsiflexed at the ankle, although
the heels may not contact the floor. The feet are about hip width apart, which refers to
the distance between the hip joints. Maintaining some lift in the arches of the feet can
help create a feeling of engagement in the legs.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: This is a forward folding position.The muscles and tissues in the
back of the lower body (i.e. calf muscles and hamstrings) are lengthening. Typically, the
knees are extended, but if the hamstrings limit the ability to tilt the pelvis forward,
bending the knees may help with that action.
Pelvis: Anteriorly tilting the pelvis will deepen the hip creases and lift the sit bones up
and back. As in uttanasana, tension in the hamstrings restricts the ability of the hips to
flex and tends to pull the sitting bones down. The practitioner may bend the knees in
order to access an anterior tilt of the pelvis, as this could release some tension in the
hamstrings. Note: all three hamstring muscles connect on the ischial tuberosity (aka
the sit bone) on the bottom of the pelvis.
Spine: The spine is lengthened. This is sometimes referred to
as axial extension, or lengtheing along the axis of the spine.
Shoulders: The shoulders are flexed. Just as in
urdhva hastasana, the shoulder blades are upwardly
rotated.so that the lower tips of the shoulder blades
will wrap around toward the side of the ribcage.
Wrists/hands: The forearms are
pronated to turn the palms toward the
floor. The wrists are extended, although
not as much as in upward facing dog or
chaturanga. Visualizing pressing the floor
away can help the hips lift.
INHALE
ARDHA UTTANASANA
STANDING HALF
FORWARD BEND
In this pose the hips remain flexed, as in uttanasana, but the spine is extended.
Feet/Ankles: The contact points of each foot—the heel, ball of the big toe and ball of
the little toe—are firmly planted. Grounding these points of contact allows the three
arches of each foot to lift.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: As in uttanasana, in this pose the knees are typically straight, or
moving toward straight. Just as in uttanasana, bending the knees will reduce the
tension in the hamstrings and may allow the student to tip the pelvis forward so that
they can find more spinal extension.
Pelvis: The position of the pelvis doesn't
change much from uttanasana. The hip joints
remain flexed, with the pelvis tipped forward.
Because the torso, shoulders and head are
farther away from the pelvis, the pelvis may
shift backward slightly to counterweight the
upper body.
Spine: The spine is extended. It's not extended to the point
that it is in a backbend, but there is a degree of extension,
particularly in the thoracic and cervical spine, to lift the chest
so that it's aiming forward.
Shoulders: Although the arms are not alongside the ears the
shoulders are still flexed, albeit to a lesser degree compared to
uttanasana or urdhva hastasana. Retracting the shoulder blades
slightly will help to spread the collarbones.
Wrists/Hands: The wrists are extended so that the palms can rest
flat on the ground. Other options for hand placement include palms
on blocks or on shins, or fingertips on the floor. The arms are
straight and are assisting to lift the chest.
EXHALE
UTTANASANA
STANDING FORWARD
BEND
Feet/Ankles: The contact points of each foot—the heel, ball of the big toe and ball of
the little toe—are firmly planted, with the weight evenly distributed between the heel
and the balls of the toes. Grounding these points of contact allows the three arches of
each foot to lift.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: Typically in this pose, the knees are straight, or moving toward
straight. This requires the lengthening of the hamstrings. Because the hamstrings cross
both the knee and hip joints, bending the knees will slacken the hamstrings and make
it easier to fold forward, but will reduce the stretch of the hamstrings.
Pelvis: The hip joints are flexed, so that the pelvis is tilted forward
over the thighs. The position of the pelvis will depend on the
flexibility of the hamstrings. With the knees straight, tension in the
hamstrings will tend to pull the sitting bones (ischial tuberosities)
down, limiting the ability of the pelvis to tilt forward. If students
struggle to tilt the pelvis, bending the knees may make it easier to tilt
the pelvis. For those with more flexible hamstrings, the pelvis may
tilt forward easily with straight knees.
Spine: The spine is flexed. There is a degree of flexion from the
lumbar spine to the cervical spine.
Shoulders: The shoulders are flexed. As the spine flexes, the
shoulder blades will tend to slightly protract, or move away
from the spine.
Wrists/Hands: The wrists are extended so that the palms can
rest flat on the ground. Other options for hand placement
include palms on blocks or on shins, or fingertips on the
floor.
Neck/Head: The neck is slightly flexed as the nose moves
towards the legs. The muscles of the neck are relaxed so that
the crown of the head can release towards the floor.
INHALE
URDHVA HASTASANA
UPWARD HANDS
This pose is similar to tadasana, but with the arms elevated overhead.
Reaching the arms overhead requires a coordinated movement of the
arms, shoulder blades, collarbones and thoracic spine that is referred to
as scapulohumeral rhythm.
Feet/Ankles: The anatomical contact points of each foot—the heel, ball
of the big toe and ball of the little toe—are firmly planted, with the
weight evenly distributed between the heel and the balls of the toes.
Grounding these points of contact allows the three arches of each foot
to lift.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: The knees are straight, or extended, although it's not
uncommon for the knees to push past straight, or be hyper-extended. A
useful cue for finding straight knees is to visualize pressing the feet down
as the pelvis floats up, so that the knees lengthen without pushing
backward..
Pelvis: The pelvis is more or less in a neutral position.
Spine: The spine is mostly neutral but some amount of extension in the
thoracic spine will probably occur for the arms to reach fully overhead.
Shoulders: The arms are elevated. If the arms move out and up, that
movement is shoulder abduction, accompanied by external rotation. If the
arms move forward and up, that is termed shoulder flexion. (This may seem
confusing, because a common cue is to "extend the arms overhead," but
technically, it's shoulder flexion.) Whenever the arms lift, the shoulder blades
also rotate upwards. Upward rotation of the shoulder blades turns the
shoulder sockets, located on the outer shoulder blades, toward the ceiling. It
is OK and natural for the shoulder to move up as the arms go up.
Wrists/Hands: The wrists and hands will remain neutral as they go overhead.
The arms may come in (adduct) towards the head while the palms come
together and press up towards the sky.
Neck/Head: The neck and head can remain neutral with the gaze
straight ahead, although in some versions, the gaze may lift as the
thoracic and cervical spine extends. A useful cue is to "allow the
shoulders to elevate and soften the muscles of the neck."
EXHALE
TADASANA
MOUNTAIN POSE
This is a position of readiness that embodies a balance between relaxation and
alertness. The essence of the pose is finding a neutral, balanced standing position that
ideally could allow for movement in any direction with equal ease.
Feet/Ankles: The anatomical contact points of each foot—the heel, ball of the big
toe and ball of the little toe—are firmly planted, with the weight evenly
distributed between the heel and the balls of the toes. Grounding these points of
contact allows the three arches of each foot to lift. To distribute weight evenly
between the inner and outer heel bone (calcaneus), it may also be useful to
visualize four "corners" of the feet.
Shins/Knees/Thighs: The knees are straight, or extended, although it's
not uncommon for the knees to push past straight, or be hyper-
extended. A useful cue may be to visualize pressing the feet down as
the pelvis floats up, so that the knees lengthen without pushing
backward..
Pelvis: The pelvis is in a neutral position. In other words, it's balanced
between two opposing actions—anterior rotation and posterior
rotation, i.e. tilting the pelvis forward and backward. Because the
sacrum is both part of the pelvis and part of the spine, movements
of the pelvis and the spine are linked. When the pelvis is in a neutral
position, the lumbar spine will find its natural curve.
Spine: The spine is neutral with the three natural curves in the
cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.
Shoulders: The shoulders are in a neutral position so that the arms can
rest by the side of the body. Although it's commonly cued, pulling the
shoulder blades back and down is not actually the neutral position. If
someone's shoulders are excessively rounding forward, that cue could
bring them towards a more neutral position, but it isn't useful as a
universal cue for everyone.
Wrists/Hands: The wrists and hands are neutral. The palms are
facing in towards the thighs. This is different from anatomical
position, where the forearms and palms are supinated, aka facing
forward.
Neck/Head: The neck and head are neutral. In this position, the eye
level will be straight ahead, looking toward the horizon
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